Outer-Linearization-Based Optimization Algorithm for Decentralized Control Design in Flexure-Linked H-Gantry

The dual-drive H-gantry (DHG) is widely used for high-speed high-precision Cartesian motion control applications. Compared with the rigid-linked gantry design, the flexure-linked design is able to prevent the damage of the cross-arm because a small degree of rotation angle is allowed. Nevertheless, the flexure-linked design possibly induces the resonance of the gantry because of the chattering of control signals. To maintain the precision tracking of two carriages and minimize the chattering of control efforts, we aim to seek the most suitable flexure joints among the available ones and optimize the decentralized feedback controller parameters under parametric uncertainties. The mechatronic design problem is formulated as an H2 guaranteed cost control problem. All the stabilizing feedback controller gains are parameterized over a convex set, from here, numerical procedures are developed to obtain the global optimum by means of an outer-linearization-based optimization algorithm. Experiments are carried out and the results successfully validate the optimality and the robustness of the proposed design approach.